


Unacceptable, Try Again

by CuriousThimble



Series: Fictober 2020 [4]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Griffins, Other, Post Blight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: Zeus watches his sister work with her griffins, glad that they've helped heal her broken heart.
Series: Fictober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948270
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Unacceptable, Try Again

“Was that a scream?” Lord Rathbone asks, looking up sharply from the paperwork strewn across the king’s desk.

“Yes,” Zeus sighs, not looking up from the wine list Rathbone brought. “It’s the queen, of course.”

“Should we—” Rathbone cuts himself off when there’s another scream, this one sharp and bird-like. “That is...Might she need help?”

“No,” Zeus answers, his tone bored and distracted. “The first year vintage is ready?” he asks, looking up finally. “It’s only been five years.”

“Your Majesty, it is  _ divine, _ ” Rathbone assures him, reaching into the crate he’d had carted in when he arrived. “I’m so confident that I’ve had an entire barrel tapped and bottled so you and the queen might try it.” From a nest of sweet-smelling hay comes a bottle so dark it’s nearly black with a Raven etched into the glass.

A snow-white eyebrow raises slowly. “Is that so? You are confident, then. Very well, let’s try it.”

Zeus calls for a corkscrew and three glasses before he and the newly-made Lord Rathbone stroll toward the stables. Ahead of them they can see the stablemaster helping Hera from the ground, one of her griffins dancing around her in anxiety while another crows in triumph.

“Unacceptable,” a red-haired elf scolds, pulling her to her feet. “Try again.”

“Honor, I’m fine,” Hera says distractedly to the nervous one, grabbing a silver griffin’s reins so she can mount once more. “Back up, girl.”

“Is that the queen?” Rathbone gasps, nearly dropping the bottle he carries.

“It is indeed. She’s been training them to the saddle for a month.”

Zeus can’t help but smile at the woman before him; Hera is an absolute mess. Her hair has come out of its braid, a wild mass of midnight waves, her riding trousers are filthy— as is the billowing shirt he was certain used to be white. But the smile on her face makes up for everything.

The griffins bring her joy and Zeus is grateful for that, even as he watches her struggle against the bucking beast beneath her. Watching, he begins to count until she flies through the air once more, landing in one of the piles of hay surrounding the paddock.

“Damn me,” she curses when the stablemaster helps her to her feet once more.

“That was forty-two seconds this time,” Zeus says cheerfully.

“Y-Your Majesty,” Rathbone stammers, bowing with a flourish. 

“Rathbone, good to see you again,” she says, inclining her head to him briefly as she dusts herself off. “This is Stablemaster Craven,” she adds, gesturing to the scarred elf at her side. “What brings you to the castle?”

“Rathbone has brought us some wine,” Zeus explains, lifting the glasses in his hands. “Care for a break?”


End file.
